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In this episode, we discuss:
- A Birth Center Birth at Women's First in Machias, Maine
- The thought process of choosing care outside of the hospital's OB services
- Midwifery care and doula support
- All about Cathy's current pregnancy
- ….and a whole lot more!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cathy (00:00):
I think I actually ended up texting her.
It was probably around likefour o'clock and I was like hey,
like is like is it normal foryour water to break?
Are you to lose your mucus plugat like 37 weeks?
She was like, yeah, it can be.
She, you know.
She was like you know, are youfeeling like crampy?
And I was like no, I feeltotally normal.
Otherwise, she's like is thebaby moving?
I was like yep, baby's moving,feels good.
(00:20):
Yep, she's like okay, well,like keep me updated, right,
just like go rest.
And just like text me if youhave any changes.
And Leanne was actuallyscheduled to come over that day,
the same day we were going togo through like the details of
the birth plan.
So like really sit down and andwrite everything out and like
cover all that stuff.
And so she was going to comeover, probably like in an hour,
(00:43):
it like five o'clock I think.
She was scheduled to come toPopeye and you know she came and
she's like how's your, how'syour day going?
And I was like good, I think mywater broke.
And she's like, oh, do you havecontractions?
And I was like no, I feeltotally the same other.
Otherwise she's like okay.
So, you know, we sat down and wewere reading through the birth
plan and I could tell she waswatching my like just watching
(01:04):
my face a little bit closer thannormal.
I was like why are you staringat me like that?
But I think she, you know, shewas just like going through
things.
And then we got to a page andshe's just like flip that page
over.
She's like we're going to,we're going to skip that page.
And I was like why?
And she's like you, you don'thave time.
And I was like what are youtalking about?
She's like you're, you're goingto have a baby today.
I was like no, I'm not Right, Iwas still expecting.
(01:26):
Like like I would have likefour more weeks to go.
She's like no, I'm pretty sure.
She's like are you havingcontractions?
And at that point I wasstarting to feel like a little
bit more crampy, right, and Iwas like, maybe, like I still
didn't really know what toexpect.
(01:46):
And she's like yeah, I thinkyou are.
And so both like Leanne andJarni had said the same thing
why don't you rest?
You're probably going to callus at like 2am.
Like things, things are goingto get intense.
Angela (01:54):
I'm Angela and I'm a certified birth photographer,
experienced doula, childbirtheducator and your host here on
the my Main Birth podcast.
This is a space where we sharethe real-life stories of
families and their unique birthexperiences in the beautiful
state of Maine, from our state'sbiggest hospitals to birth
center births and home births.
(02:15):
Every birth story deserves tobe heard and celebrated.
Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother or simply
interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you.
Welcome back.
You're listening to episode 121of my Main Birth.
As a reminder, I share alldifferent types of stories that
(02:38):
are submitted to me Hospitalbirths, birth center births, all
different types of home births,positive stories, negative
stories and everything inbetween.
The only requirement forsharing a birth story on the
podcast is that at least one ofyour birth stories is a Maine
birth story.
As an added bonus, all of mypodcast guests receive a gift
(02:59):
certificate for a familyadventure photo session on the
session day of your choice.
I host session days for mypodcast guests at iconic
locations across Mainethroughout the spring, summer
and fall, and I have plenty offall dates still open.
So if you're interested injoining the community of Maine
moms sharing birth stories onthe podcast.
(03:20):
You can fill out the form onthe podcast page over on my
website, mymainbirthcom, or youcan always send me a message
over on Instagram at mymainbirth.
Today's birth story guest isKathy, and she's here to share
all about her first birth, whichwas at the birth center in down
(03:41):
east Maine called Women's First, and also about her current
pregnancy and how that's beengoing All right.
Hi Kathy, welcome to my MaineBirth.
Hi Angela, to get started,would you share a little bit
about you and your family?
Cathy (04:00):
Sure, yeah.
So my name is Kathy and I liveall the way down east in Lubec
with my husband, ian.
Today is actually our eightmonth wedding anniversary, which
is pretty cool, yeah, but wewe're college sweethearts, so
we've known each other for maybelike 15 years now we live.
We bought his grandparentshouse when they passed away, so
(04:23):
we actually live right down thedriveway from where he grew up.
His parents house is like rightdown the down the road and but,
yeah, we live in Lubec on righton the bold coast, so it's
really like a beautiful piece ofland.
And now we have our son.
He's almost two actually, sohe'll be two in September and
we're 36 weeks pregnant with oursecond.
Angela (04:43):
So, yeah, we're excited and we're 36 weeks pregnant with
our second, so yeah, we'reexcited.
So, to get into your birthstories, would you share about
how you found out you werepregnant and like what your
thoughts were in choosing yourcare?
Cathy (04:55):
Sure.
So I think Ian and I hadstarted talking maybe it was
probably like fall, it must'vebeen 2022 that we were like,
okay, are we, are we ready tohave kids?
You know, we had been marriedfor like six years together, for
like well over 10 and we'relike are we, are we gonna do
this?
Like next step?
You know, we had always wantedto have at least two kids, but
(05:16):
we're like, okay, you know, noneof our friends had had kids yet
.
So it wasn't really sure that,like, do we want to switch up
our lifestyle?
Like go for, for it.
But ultimately, I think we wedecided like, let's get through
the holidays and then we'llstart in the new year.
And, um, I had someone tell melike, oh, if you've been on
birth control, it'll take.
It'll take you a long time,right, but no, we got lucky and
(05:38):
we got pregnant the first monthwe tried.
So that was really exciting.
But I remember sharing with Ianlike, okay, we're pregnant.
(05:59):
It was like that, like nervous,like oh my gosh, I'm very
excited.
But we're totally doing thisand I'm like, yeah, we are.
So it was, yeah, it was reallyway down here, but there are a
couple in Machias, which isabout 40 minutes for us.
So there's an OB officeassociated with Downey's
Community Hospital and thenevery day when I was driving to
work, there was this smallbuilding that had this sign that
was like birthing center comingsoon and I was like, oh that's,
(06:21):
that's intriguing.
So we decided to make anappointment at both places
because we weren't really surelike what, where we would vibe
better.
And the OB office at thehospital was like very much what
you would expect with like aroutine, like doctor's visit.
Right Like you come in, they'relike do all your paperwork pee
(06:42):
in this cup, you know.
Go to the room.
They're like do you have a?
We have a student shadowingtoday, is that cool?
And I was like, I guess, so youknow.
They're like put on yourdisposable sheet Okay, you're
pregnant, yay, bye.
Very like fine.
But like quick, you know.
Just like you're anotherpatient there.
Just like in and out like yep,here you go.
Yeah, you're good, okay, bye,we'll see you in a couple weeks.
(07:03):
And I was like all right,that's cool, I guess, but yeah.
So then we made an appointmentwith this midwife who was having
this birthing center open uplater that fall and it was just
a different experience, right,like hi, who are you?
Congratulations, like you'repregnant, like let's talk about
that, are you excited, you know?
And then just like, tell meabout you, tell me about your
(07:23):
husband, like what is your guys'life like?
And this is my story and likemy background, it just felt so
different and it was just like,okay, yeah, this is the been a
labor and delivery nurse foryears, both like in a hospital
setting but also many homebirths.
And you know we were.
(07:47):
We were definitely sure wedidn't want to do a home birth,
but we're like not vibing withhospitals.
So this just felt like theperfect in between for us that
she was going to open this birthcenter and it was so close to
the hospital it's like a mileaway.
So I think if there was a majoremergency we'd probably have to
go to Bangor anyway, but still,that's reassuring that we're
close enough to our localhospital.
(08:08):
So, yeah, we, we ended up goingwith the midwife and that was
really great.
We also decided to hire a doula,I think just because, like we
have no baby, we had like nobaby experience or like
pregnancy experience at all, andso I heard about doulas.
Ian at first was like, oh, likea doula.
That's like another expense andI was like I know but I think
(08:32):
it's just like you know I knowlike I'm a pretty shy,
introverted person and so, likeI knew I didn't want to have
this like team of people in mybirthing room but I was like if
I have one person that I canlike trust on that I know will
support you and supporting me,it just like felt like that
could be like just a helpfulthing for us to have.
So we hired Leanne fromAdventure Waits Birth Services
(08:56):
and she's awesome, she'sfantastic.
We knew her husband a littlebit.
He was a graduate student whenwe were undergrads and then Ian
and him had worked at BaxterState Park together when they
were both there.
So we knew their family alittle bit, knew that they kind
of like had similar interests.
You know they have fourwonderful little boys and so I
didn't know Leanne that much.
But you know we got time, wehad that time to get to know her
(09:18):
and that was that was reallyexciting too.
Angela (09:21):
Awesome, oh my gosh.
So do you care to share alittle bit more about your
thoughts on, like not wanting tohave a home birth and like why,
like, the birthing centerseemed like such a great option
for you?
Cathy (09:31):
Yeah.
So I think, like you know, ahome birth just seems it just
felt a little intimidating forus.
It's not, you know, we are,we're like all the way down here
in Lubeb, we're pretty far awayfrom everything.
So it was like, okay, well, ifsomething goes wrong, like we're
all you know, not that we'd beby ourselves, we would have a
midwife here, you know she couldcome here and stuff, but just
felt like it, I don't know, itjust didn't like that.
(09:54):
We were just like I don't know,we don't really feel totally
comfortable with a home birthand the birth center it just
felt like it had all theequipment ready to go.
It was right there, she that wasthe space that she was building
.
That was still comfortable,still super private, right, like
it was just her.
She has one nurse assistantthat helps her, and then it
ended up being Leanne with us.
(10:14):
So still there's only threepeople that we were going to
have there.
It's not like a bunch of peoplewould come in and intrude your
space.
It's still your private spaceand it was a little bit less
rural, you know, so like ifsomething happened, we could get
help a little bit faster, whichfelt good.
Angela (10:31):
So how was your pregnancy looking?
How are you feeling throughoutthat pregnancy?
Cathy (10:43):
Yeah.
So I got nauseous, like prettymuch right away, and I was like,
okay, that that's normal, right, you know?
I was like, okay, everyone getsright, you know.
I was like, okay, everyone getsnauseous.
This is part about beingpregnant.
And Ian was like, are you surethis is normal?
Because, like I was not eating,like not drinking, like I, I
was struggling pretty quick,like it was just very intense,
and I was like, yeah, this is,this is normal, this is what it
means to be pregnant in thefirst trimester.
(11:04):
And he was like I really thinkyou should like highlight this
on your next, you know,appointment.
And he couldn't go to a lot ofthe appointments, so he's like I
really need you to advocateabout this when you go.
And so I ended up talking toJohnny and she was like, okay,
yeah, this sounds like a littlebit more like I was throwing up
multiple times, like all day,didn't matter morning, afternoon
(11:27):
, evening, like it was just, youknow, I was constantly throwing
up, couldn't eat, wasn't reallydrinking.
And so she was like, yeah, thisisn't great.
You know, we tried some thingslike the B6 and Unisum and all
those other things that they,you know, you can give a, give
it a go, but nothing was reallyhelping.
So she did ask if I wanted totry Zofran it's a prescription
you can get and I did end upafter a while, I think.
(11:49):
I tried not to for a long timebut I was like, okay, I'll just,
I'll go for it.
And that helped with thevomiting.
I did stop throwing up, but Ialways still felt nauseous, like
from the day I found out to theday that kid came out.
I it never went away.
People were like, oh, you'llstart to feel better soon, that
(12:11):
placenta will kick in, and itnever did or it just didn't
change.
So that was intense and I think, just like not having like the
nutrients that you, that youthink you're going to get
throughout the journey.
And then to like the mentalgame you know I was so used to
being hiking and working out andgetting and I couldn't do the
things that I envisioned that Iwould do still while being
(12:34):
pregnant.
So that was really hard anddefinitely made me not love
being pregnant.
To be honest, it's not somethinglike if people are like, oh, do
you like it?
I'm like not really.
But besides that, the thepregnancy was great in the sense
.
Like you know, everything elsewas very healthy and normal.
Um, johnny, uh, she was able todo, you know, in in-house labs
(13:00):
and ultrasounds, so you know Iopted for things that you might
routinely get.
So, like we did the blood testfor the genetic screening, we
had the anatomy scan.
Probably it must have beenaround like 22 weeks.
I feel like Everything wasgreat there, that everything
baby was growing.
So even though I was likelosing weight, baby was fine.
Angela (13:23):
So that was really okay though I was like losing weight
baby was fine, so that wasreally okay.
Um, so, were you going toEllsworth?
Cathy (13:30):
for where were you going for your test?
No, I could do.
I could do almost everything inhouse with Jarni, so I just did
pretty much everything inMachias.
For the anatomy scan, I had togo to the hospital in Machias.
So that's the one thing that,yeah, I had to go there.
Um, but like, yeah, I could doa glucose test.
I didn't have to take the ordrink the drink I guess that
everyone drinks.
I did like this alternative.
(13:51):
I think I had like grape juiceand a banana or something, so
that was pretty nice.
So I don't know, everyone saysit's really that juice is gross,
so I didn't, but I didn't haveto do that, so that was lucky.
Um, I did get a R rogam shotjust because of my blood type
and because there could be umcomplications with the babies,
but besides that everything wastotally normal.
(14:12):
You know, we chose to find outthe sex.
He was a little boy, which wewere gonna be excited either way
, but that was cool.
And then also, like, withLeanne, we, you know she was
coming to meet with us, you know, or we'd go hiking or whatever
we were up for, and she justtook time to like get to know us
as our doula and like what ourvision was, and we did a
(14:34):
birthing like class with her,which was really helpful because
, again, like we just didn'thave a lot of experience or
friends to kind of rely on.
So that was just a wonderfulexperience all around there.
Angela (14:46):
That sounds amazing.
So how are things looking likein those last final weeks and
then days leading up to whenyour labor started?
Cathy (14:55):
Yeah.
So everyone had told me to addlike 10 days to whatever my due
date was.
So I was like I think we weredue the 27th of September.
So I was like, oh, I'm going tohave an October baby, which is
great.
So I was like, oh, I'm gonnahave an October baby, which is
great.
Fall, that sounds perfect.
But um, at 37 weeks and fourdays is when I went into labor,
(15:17):
so a lot earlier than I wasexpecting, it was September 10th
.
Because I was like, oh, yeah,I'll have like four more weeks
or whatever.
But I remember that day, like Iwoke up and I was feeling good,
like I had high energy.
I was like, oh, this isn'tnormal, but I feel great.
I actually remember mymother-in-law had been asking me
to pick peas from the gardenfor like weeks and I was like I
(15:37):
will do it.
But that morning I was like I'mgoing to do it, like I finally
feel good enough to go do thisvery small task, but like still
felt good.
And then I remember, by thetime I had gotten fully ready,
my husband and her had walked inand they had already.
They had this big bowl of peasand I was like, oh, no, I was
going to do that today, likesuch a small thing, but they're
like these are really past due.
(15:58):
You should have done it a whileago.
And I was like I know I'm sosorry, but we ended up going for
a hike that afternoon.
It was great, just down to abeach and we hung out on the
beach the whole time.
And then we got home, it wasprobably like three, three
thirty, I think.
I told my husband, ok, I'mgoing to hop in the shower.
And he's like oh, do you wantme to join?
(16:18):
And I was like sure, thatsounds great.
So we were.
When we were intimate in theshower, I definitely felt like
this extra gush.
I was like huh, doesn'tnormally happen.
And I was was like I wonder ifthat was my water breaking.
But I was like no, I'm onlylike 37 weeks, so you know.
He hopped out and I stayed into like wash my hair or whatever
, and within a couple of minutesI was like I lost what.
(16:40):
I was like this has to be mymucus plug, right?
I was like I don't know.
I called him back.
I was like, yeah, come back.
And he was like yeah, what I'mlike holding it out in my hand
outside of the shower curtainand he's like what do you, what
do you want me to do with that?
And I was like do you thinkthis is a mucus plug?
Like do you think that's whatthis is?
And he's like I don't know,google it.
(17:08):
And I was like okay, I'll justcall J your water to break.
Are you to lose your mucus plugat like 37 weeks?
She was like yeah, it can be.
She, you know.
She was like you know, are youfeeling like crampy?
And I was like no, I feeltotally normal.
Otherwise, she's like is thebaby moving?
I was like yep, baby's moving,feels good.
Yep, she's like okay, well,like keep me updated, right,
(17:30):
just like go rest and just liketext me if you have any changes.
And um, leanne was actuallyscheduled to come over that day.
The same day we were going togo through like the details of
the birth plan, so like reallysit down and and write
everything out and like coverall that stuff.
And so she was going to comeover probably like in an hour.
It was like five o' I think shewas scheduled to come to Popeye
(17:51):
and you know she came and she'slike how's your day going?
And I was like good, I think mywater broke.
And she's like oh, do you havecontractions?
And I was like, no, I feeltotally the same.
Otherwise, she's like okay, soyou know, we was just like going
(18:15):
through things.
And then we got to a page andshe's just like flip that page
over.
She's like we're going to,we're going to skip that page.
And I was like why?
And she's like you, you don'thave time.
And I was like no, I'm notright, I was still expecting,
like like I would have like fourmore weeks to go.
She's like no, I'm pretty sure.
(18:35):
She's like are you havingcontractions?
And at that point I wasstarting to feel like a little
bit more crampy, right, I waslike maybe, like I still didn't
really know what to expect.
And she's like yeah, I think youare.
And so both like Leanne andJarn Johnny, had said the same
thing.
Why don't you rest?
You're probably going to callus at like 2 am.
Like things, things are goingto get intense.
(18:57):
And I was like okay, and Iremember like, right before
Leanne left, she turned to Ian.
She's like do you have a carseat in your car?
And he's like no, it's in thebox.
He like in the garage.
She's like, let me help you,let me help you put that in the
car, but where I go, like you'regonna need that.
(19:18):
And we were both, like, I think,in denial for sure that we were
about to have this baby thatday.
But yeah, she probably left atabout like 6, 6, 30 and by eight
o'clock I had called Jarni andwas like, yeah, our contractions
are five minutes apart and theythey're like intense like I
think actually my husband calledbecause like I was not talking
through them.
So it went from like nothing tolike okay, like yeah, okay,
this is, this is labor, I guess.
(19:39):
So we she was like, yeah, comeon in.
So we probably got to Machias alittle after nine and what I
kind of expected like everythingfrom there field cut, like kind
of it's like a blur a littlebit, because exactly what I
expected happened is like I justlike went deep in right, like I
like closed my eyes and likeshut everyone out which is why
(20:01):
it was so great to have likeLeanne, you know to like help
support my husband, cause, likeI just like was not talking to
anyone, I was like ignoringeveryone because of the
contractions were so close andjust coming so fast.
It was like really intense.
I was like, wow, I just likecouldn't talk.
I could remember them likeasking me to do things.
I just like straight up ignoredthem, which I felt kind of bad
(20:23):
about.
But eventually someone was likehey, like do you want to try the
tub?
And I was like hey, like do youwant to try the tub?
And I was like, yeah, okay, I,I do remember that is something
I thought would sound reallygreat.
It was so hot, I hated it.
It was just like it felt like a, like a really big hot tub.
I was like, why is this waterso hot?
I tried to stay in there for alittle bit, but eventually I got
(20:45):
out and yeah, I don't reallyremember like what happened in
between there, but then I endedup like laying on the bed, kind
of on one of my sides, and thatwas the position that I
ultimately gave birth in.
I remember like one of my legswas like elevated and it was
getting so tired.
I was like I need someone tohold this leg, but I never
(21:06):
couldn't like speak that outloud to anyone, right, you know.
So it was just like, just like,okay, I'm just like.
But eventually I think Leannelike came under and was
supporting me there, which wasreally great.
She just knew what I needed.
And I think, like I only reallyremember communicating with
everyone once, like I I feltlike someone was like pulling me
and like pulling the opening,and I was like you guys have to
(21:27):
stop touching me and likethey're all like no one is,
literally no one is touching you.
And I was like no, you're like,you're like stretching and it
hurts.
I don't like that.
And they're like their handsare out there, like literally no
one is touching you, that isjust you are stretching on your
own.
We know it's not great.
(21:52):
Remember, like, at once Istarted pushing, I could
remember him like coming reallyclose, like, and then I would
just like hold him there becauseif I didn't, he'd like suck,
suck back up.
You know like.
So it felt like I was like oh,he's pushing, he's coming, he's
coming.
And then, like, if I relaxed, Ifelt like he was just like it
sucked right back up.
I was like no one ever told methat that would happen, so I
would just hold him.
And Johnny's like Kathy, kathy,you have to like, you have to
like let go, you have to breathe.
And I was like, oh, I don'twant to, I need him to come out.
(22:15):
And eventually, I think it wasabout like 1145.
Someone was like, oh, you'redoing good, you know you've only
been here for three hours, butyou're like, you're getting
really close.
And I remember thinking like,oh, I want to push so hard
because for some reason I justlike was convinced I didn't want
to have a baby on 9-11, whichyou know, so I was just minutes
away.
But he did come, like just acouple minutes after midnight.
(22:38):
So we did ultimately have himon 9-11, which is fine, that's,
it's totally okay.
But I remember pushing like Ican do this, he'll come out
before.
Then Didn't make it, but so itwas pretty quick, quick like we
got there at nine o'clock and hewas born right at midnight.
So it was very fast and intenseand everything kind of felt
like a blur to me in the momentbecause I was just like totally
(23:01):
not expecting to have a baby.
But yeah, I mean after that Idon't remember birthing the
placenta, it must've just came.
I remember someone asking if Iwanted it and I was like, nope,
I don't need it.
And they just had put him likeright on my chest, and so we
just hung out like that for awhile and then eventually cut
the cord a little bit later.
(23:22):
So it was just like quickinterview, I feel like, but but
good, it was.
Positive, I feel like, but butgood it was positive.
Angela (23:30):
Yeah, oh my gosh.
So how was your postpartum?
How was like?
How long did you stay at thebirth center for?
Cathy (23:36):
Yeah, so I we didn't stay very long.
I was pretty much ready to go,probably around like three,
three, 30 in the morning, andthey were like, yeah, you're
good, baby's good, they did allthe measurements.
Um, my husband was like I don'twant to, I don't want to drive
in the dark, and so he was likeI want to wait until it gets
light out, and I was like Idon't want to wait, I want to go
(24:00):
home, right, and so I think weleft right around four and got
home, you know, close to five,but so we didn't stay there very
long and postpartum was okay,had, um, high bilirubin levels,
so that's like when you'reconcerned about jaundice.
So we were going back and forthlike every day to the machias
hospital for them to like testhis levels to make sure that it
(24:22):
was going to become like thatthey would get low enough.
It was really confusing, though, because the hospital was like
no, you have to go to yourpediatrician, and the
pediatrician was like no, youhave to go to the hospital.
And we were the communicationwas very bad and we were just
like going to multiple placesand everyone's like who are you,
why are you here?
And we're like someone told usto come right.
(24:42):
And so, as new parents who alsolike, were maybe a little less
prepared than we should havebeen, we were not ready for the
baby yet.
We just felt.
We just felt like it would,just felt very chaotic, like we
weren't getting clear answers.
We were like how long do wehave to do this for?
And no one was reallycommunicating that to us.
But after about, like I think,a week and a half, his levels
(25:03):
had come far enough down that wedidn't have to keep going to
the hospital, so that was great.
He wasn't the best sleeper, butI think that's what should be
expected.
Eventually, once I was up andmoving, we were able to do a lot
of mini walks outside while hewas contact napping, so that was
pretty great.
We breastfed and that wentpretty good.
(25:27):
It was a much shorter timeframe than I thought.
I thought I would, you know, doit for a couple, like at least
two years, but like around ayear he was like no, yeah, I'm
just not really into thisanymore, mom, which was, I guess
, okay.
He had a lot of teeth by thatpoint, so I was kind of relieved
to be like okay, I guess that'spretty good.
(25:51):
Pumping was a little bit hardfor me.
I ended up having high lipase,which I don't know if a lot of
people like do have that or not,but it's basically when your
milk turns to have this likesoapy or metallic taste, it's
fine, like in theory, the babycan drink it.
They just don't want to becauseit doesn't taste good.
It they just don't want tobecause it doesn't taste good.
(26:14):
And I didn't, you know, Ididn't know that until it was
like, oh, I'm gonna go back towork in a week, why don't we try
a bottle, right?
And so then I was like, wow,he's really rejecting bottles.
And we tried like all differenttypes of bottles until finally
I like tried the milk and I waslike, yeah, well, this tastes
disgusting.
I was like, no wonder hedoesn't want to drink it.
And it's just that any like wefound out through like just like
(26:35):
a series of tests, that likeafter 12 hours that that so be
metallic taste would like formin my milk.
So pretty much everything thatI had stored he wasn't going to
drink, which was really a bummer.
Because then I was like, okay,well, now I have to go back to
work and we had this nice supply, but we can't really use it.
I mean, we did use it for likebaths, like if he had a rash I'd
(26:58):
put some in the bath, butbesides that he wasn't really
drinking it.
So that complicated things fromlike with pumping, because then
you can kind of get rid of thetaste if you scald your milk,
which is a little bit of abummer.
But just added this whole extrastep through that process.
And then I also got mastitistwice, which was a little
(27:19):
unfortunate, and I think likethe first time they gave me some
antibiotics for it and they'relike take these for 12, you know
, 12 or 14 days.
And after five I was like, well, it's gone, I don't have to
take these antibiotics anymore.
They were making me like supernauseous as well.
So it's like bringing back allthese memories.
I was like I'm just going tostop taking this.
And then it like came rightback.
(27:39):
So they're like did you take itfor 14 days?
I was like no, and they're like, why don't you try again?
So that was, that was fine, butI was able to kick it, I think
after the second time.
But besides that, yeah, haveyou know, perfectly healthy two
(28:08):
year old.
So he's doing pretty great.
Angela (28:13):
Awesome.
So how did you find out youwere pregnant for the second
time?
Cathy (28:18):
Yeah, so definitely After , I would say, you know, after I
always tell people after thefirst pregnancy I was like I'm
never gonna be pregnant again.
It was just like so hard to benauseous for so long.
I was like I always say like ifI could go through labor again,
fine, that was.
That was so intense, but itonly lasted a few hours compared
to being so nauseous, like thatmental and physical drain, for
(28:42):
like months on end.
It's really hard.
But, like everyone was like well, you always wanted to and maybe
it'll be different.
And I was like, okay, yeah, myfirst kid is so darn cute.
So I was like maybe it will bedifferent.
So my husband and I were like,okay, well, like let's try it.
And we were pretty lucky again,I think it took us about three
(29:04):
months to get pregnant this timeand we wanted, you know, we
were like, oh, if we're going todo it, we want them to be
pretty close in age.
So we were pretty ready tostart trying, yeah, and so I
think we found out in rightafter Thanksgiving last year and
, for care, we decided, you know, we liked it.
So we went with again, we haveLeanne as our doula this time
(29:25):
around and yeah, and we're usingWomen's First and Jarni again
in the triathletes.
Angela (29:34):
So we're kind of same care routine there Awesome.
So how has your pregnancy beengoing?
Are you as nauseous as thefirst time?
Cathy (29:39):
so I was definitely as nauseous in the beginning,
actually like even worse.
It felt like, um, like nothinghelped.
Like I got the Zofran, likealmost right away this time,
because I started feelingnauseous, was like oh my gosh,
here we go again.
And then I tried some otherprescription I actually don't
even remember the name of itbecause the zofran was not
(30:00):
working but that made me feellike super jittery.
So I was like I don't, I don'tlike this at all.
But yeah, like I was not ableto have like any food or water
and I actually had to go get IVfluids a couple times for this,
for this pregnancy, just like Iwas just so dehydrated, like you
know, I was at the point whereI was just throwing up.
Nothing like still throwing up,but like there was, I'm past
(30:23):
the bile, like you know, it wasjust going through the motions.
It was so hard, and I mean thistime it was even more hard
because now we have, you know,like a 16 month old who's
hitting that point where they'relike mama, mama, you know ready
.
And it's hard to explain wherethey're like mama, mama, you
know ready.
And it's hard to explain tosome little baby why mama is
just going to lay on thebathroom floor for hours all day
(30:45):
, right, and luckily myhusband's a superstar goes to
work all day, comes home, doesall the child care, you know,
make sure he's fed and put tobed all while the kid is
shouting for mama and then, youknow, feeds me and I throw it up
, just like the perfect husbandto take care of.
But it was.
It was hard.
I mean, we definitely both.
(31:05):
I could neither of us hadvocalized it out loud, but I
definitely could see that bothof us were like did we make a
mistake?
You know, like we had thisperfect little family and now we
are just like struggling sohard and we're like you know,
not that this baby is not wanted, like we want it more than
anything.
But it was definitely likephysically, mentally, like okay,
(31:28):
this could be like another 200,you know a long time.
So I skipped out on a lot ofthings in the beginning, like
didn't do blood testing orgenetic testing.
So I was like there's no waysomeone's going to like draw my
blood right now, like that wouldbe, you know.
So didn't do anything like that.
Luckily, this time aroundaround 21 weeks, I started to
feel better.
(31:49):
I was like, oh my God, thankgoodness Cause I was like I
don't think you know, with Nateit lasted the entire time.
So this time I was like, okay,maybe, maybe things are turning
around.
And now, at 36 weeks, I amtotally like eating normal.
I actually feel like a normal,like, yeah, I could eat for two
kind of mama, which is totallygreat.
(32:10):
So even though I was, it wasmuch more intense for that first
trimester and a little bit intothe second more intense for
that first trimester and alittle bit into the second.
It's it ended this time around.
So that felt really reallygreat, yeah, and so then the
rest of the pregnancy has beenokay.
You know, we found out the sexagain.
This time it's a baby girl, sowe're really excited about that.
(32:30):
So we'll have one of each,which is super awesome.
But, um, the the anatomy scanpopped up a couple things that
had like kept us on like aninteresting journey.
So the first thing that itpopped up was that she was
really really tiny, so less than10, which I guess is very like,
puts you into like a concerninglevel.
But it also popped up that shehad this like um thick chest
(32:55):
wall, which no one reallyexplained to me.
But I, when I went back to likelook at the report, they had
labeled it as high drops, whichI had to Google.
But that's something where youcan have like excessive fluid
that accumulates in your body orin the baby's body and that can
lead to like complications andthings.
So we got referred to for afollow up at Northern Light in
Bangor.
So we went there.
(33:17):
Um, luckily they found no signsof the high drops.
So that was like totally cool.
Um, it was just like one ofthose things where you're like
stressing the whole time on thetwo and a half hour drive to
Bangor and like the week leadingup to it like oh my gosh, you
know.
No one really told me what thismeans.
Like am I going to have to likechange?
(33:38):
You know, my whole you know.
But that was fine.
But the baby's still measuringabout two, two percent is what
that was where she was.
So so the thought that she'sjust concerning for IGR or like
a growth restriction, she's justnot measuring close to her
gestational age.
And then also then when I wasin Bangor, they were like oh
well, we're seeing some weirdshadow on her heart and I was
like cool.
(33:59):
So then we got referred to thepediatric cardiologist so we had
to go for another follow-up toBangor and that that all worked
itself out that she has like twosmall VSDs which are ventricles
, septical defects but they'relike these tiny little pinholes
in her heart but they were likeit's likely that they'll just
(34:21):
close on their own.
And the recommendation is there, like after her birth, like
maybe at six weeks you would goin and get them checked if the
um pediatrician hears anythinginteresting on her heart.
But likely, like many kids havethat, and it just closes on its
own and so that that's not abig deal.
But because of her small size,the Bangor was like, yeah, we
(34:44):
want to do follow-ups.
They wanted to do like a weeklygrowth scan no, bi-weekly, I
think, is what they said for tojust check her like size and
weight.
And they wanted to do twice aweek like a biophysical profile
and doppler ultrasound, which Iwas like, oh, that's so, that's
(35:04):
a lot.
And they're like, yeah, we needto check like movement and
breathing and heart rate andfluid levels, and I was like,
okay, and I was like and I haveto come to Bangor, because I was
like coming to Bangor twice aweek is like it's a five-hour
round trip for me.
So I was like that's not liketotally, a week is like it's a
five hour round trip for me.
So I was like that's not liketotally feasible.
But once I talked to my midwife, charney, she was like, yeah,
no, you, you don't have to go toBangor for that.
(35:24):
I was like, okay, thank gosh.
And she, you know, I was like Ipersonally was like you know, I
felt this.
The baby's movement, you know,has always been like super
active.
And I was like, personally, Iwas like, yeah, she's small, but
like doesn't that make sense?
Like I had no nutrients forlike the whole first trimester,
right, like I was literallythrowing up every day all the
(35:47):
time.
There was nothing there, right.
And now I'm a small person andso is my husband and so was our
first baby.
So I was like let's like giveher time to grow Right.
But my midwife still was likerecommended that I would go to
the hospital here for bi-weeklycheckups.
So I did that in June and July.
So in June she was still aroundlike 4%, thought, all the way
(36:09):
up to 10.
So I was like, okay, yeah, guys, she's growing Right.
And in July she went from 10 to16%.
So she's still really small.
But the last one, which wasmaybe two weeks ago, she was
about five ounces.
So I was like that feels great.
I still have a couple weeks togo right.
And, like I said, I think Natewas six ounces and three when he
was, when he was born.
(36:30):
So I was like okay, fivedoesn't feel that far off.
So at this point I feel likeI've felt like this for a while
but I've kind of like I've Icanceled my last like biweekly
check.
Well, they were supposed tostart weekly and I was like I'm
done, I'm done doing all ofthese.
You know, it's like that littlebit of like I had to build up
the enough confidence to be like, no, I trust I can feel my baby
(36:52):
and I feel good, and like Iknow that it was just like it
took her.
She was just like a latebloomer on growth.
Like I was like it took a while, it wasn't giving her the
nutrients she wanted and so andI just felt like it was just not
necessary to go get these like15, 20 minute ultrasounds every
week.
I was like I, I'm like I'm notgoing to change my plan, like
(37:12):
right, like I was like is thatcool?
And my midwife is like ifthat's what you want to do, then
that's me.
So I think we're just going tokind of hang in there.
Maybe we'll do one more as itgets a little bit closer, we'll
see.
Like I said, we're at 30, we're36 weeks now.
So she comes early, like herbrother.
She could be here in a week orwe could have a couple of weeks
(37:33):
to go.
She wants to stay in there andgrow.
Yeah, it's been like aninteresting pregnancy.
I just feel like there has beenlike more cause for alarm than
necessary, right, like you know,and it's hard sometimes to put
your not to like put your footdown, but to be like confident
enough to say like no, like I'mtrusting my own intuition in
this, because people do make youfeel like you have to go get
(37:55):
this extra appointment or followup, and so it took me a while,
but I'm at that point now thatI'm like no, I really trust, I'm
trusting myself, and so, likethat's what that's like, just
like sending the positive vibes.
I feel good with it.
I feel good with thosedecisions.
It just took me a little extralong to get there.
Angela (38:11):
I think that is amazing, kathy.
And yeah, it really is justlike tuning into your own
intuition, because every youknow the standard of care is all
the same, but each person isnot the same.
Each person is different, eachsituation is different, each
pregnancy and baby is different.
And, yeah, just tuning intowhat is right for you in each
pregnancy is so important.
(38:31):
And, yeah, it can definitely bechallenging within the system
navigating all that, yeah andwow, oh my gosh.
So last time you had your babyat 37 weeks.
So now you're like I could havea baby in a week, but it also
could be like five weeks.
Cathy (38:48):
I know Exactly.
So we're just like in thatreally fun waiting game.
We're definitely like overlyprepared this time, because we
were just like so underpreparedlast time, because we're like,
oh, we have so much time.
So now I'm like, okay, well, Ithink I did everything that I do
, so now we're just like hangingout just waiting to see how it
goes.
But it's like a little funadventure there.
Angela (39:09):
Yeah, oh my gosh.
The most fun adventure for sure.
Yeah, at this point, as a finalquestion, if you were to give
advice to someone who'sexpecting, or even new parents,
what is one of the biggestthings you'd want to share?
Cathy (39:26):
yeah, I think the biggest thing is, like, before getting
pregnant, even the first time,it was just like I had this
vision of like this will be whatpregnancy is like.
Like I'm going to eat all thislike nutritious food.
I'm going to keep working out,I'm going to do, I'm going to
eat all this like nutritiousfood.
I'm going to keep working out,I'm going to do yoga, I'm going
to go hiking.
And for me it was like I don'twant to say like a picture
perfect pregnancy, but likewhat's portrayed on like social
(39:46):
media sometimes or in movies,right, and all I could do is
what felt like was just likestruggle to the next day.
And so I think it took me awhile to like not be so hard on
myself, to like not compare myjourney to somebody else's,
especially like a mediainfluenced kind of journey, and
so if you're a mama, that's likefeeling that way, don't be
(40:09):
rough on yourself, right?
Like be like you know what.
No, I'm doing exactly what Ineed to do for my baby.
If we will be fine, it's ajourney.
It might be really, really hard, like it.
Definitely there were mentallyhard, very challenging days, but
like take what you need andturn off the other stuff, right.
So, like, really just focus onyourself.
(40:30):
But like all you do, to lay inbed for 14 hours that day, that
was fine, that's great.
You know that's what you neededthat day, and it took me a
while to kind of like get tothat point that I was like this
is exactly what I need to bedoing right now, and it's okay
that I'm not like super fit, youknow, super awesome mom right
now, because I'm still raising areally great, healthy baby and
that's what matters.
(40:51):
So, yeah, I would definitely saythat to parents.
I would also suggest, as just aside note, just in case you
happen to be a mama that has thehigh life is maybe just check
your breast milk, like not theweek before you have to go back
to work, you know, just likemaybe pull one out of the
freezer and see if your babytakes the bottle a little bit
(41:11):
earlier.
You'd be a little lessstressful on your life there.
But I'm not sure how commonthat is for other for for people
.
So, but it definitely put alittle wrench in our, our
planning around how we weregoing to use that supply that we
couldn't use anymore.
So, yeah, just just go with theflow and and yeah, enjoy it,
(41:32):
even though it might be hard.
Angela (41:34):
Yeah, it's so important.
Well, thank you so much, Kathy,for taking the time to share
your story today.
It's such a pleasure chattingwith you.
Cathy (41:44):
Yeah, likewise yeah, and hopefully we'll touch base soon.
Angela (41:47):
Yes, Before you go, I just want to remind you I have a
ton of resources for pregnancyand birth.
If you're pregnant, whetheryou're a first-time mom or if
this is your fifth baby, I wantyou to check out the show notes,
because I have some freetrainings and free downloads
that you can sign up for, aswell as the link to access my
(42:07):
labor of love, a comprehensive,self-paced online childbirth
education course.
I created this coursespecifically for moms who don't
want to be told what to do,regardless of where you're
birthing or who you're birthingwith, and I'd honestly love to
teach you everything that I knowso that you can prepare for an
autonomous birth experience andprepare to step into your role
(42:30):
as the leader of your birthjourney.
So click to the show notes,check out all of those links and
, if you ever have any questions, feel free to DM me at my main
birth over on Instagram.
I think I actually ended up texting her.
It was probably around likefour o'clock and I was like hey,
like is like is it normal foryour water to break?
Are you to lose your mucus plugat like 37 weeks?
She was like, yeah, it can be.
She, you know.
She was like you know, are youfeeling like crampy?
And I was like no, I feeltotally normal.
Otherwise, she's like is thebaby moving?
I was like yep, baby's moving,feels good.
(00:20):
Yep, she's like okay, well,like keep me updated, right,
just like go rest.
And just like text me if youhave any changes.
And Leanne was actuallyscheduled to come over that day,
the same day we were going togo through like the details of
the birth plan.
So like really sit down and andwrite everything out and like
cover all that stuff.
And so she was going to comeover, probably like in an hour,
(00:43):
it like five o'clock I think.
She was scheduled to come toPopeye and you know she came and
she's like how's your, how'syour day going?
And I was like good, I think mywater broke.
And she's like, oh, do you havecontractions?
And I was like no, I feeltotally the same other.
Otherwise she's like okay.
So, you know, we sat down and wewere reading through the birth
plan and I could tell she waswatching my like just watching
(01:04):
my face a little bit closer thannormal.
I was like why are you staringat me like that?
But I think she, you know, shewas just like going through
things.
And then we got to a page andshe's just like flip that page
over.
She's like we're going to,we're going to skip that page.
And I was like why?
And she's like you, you don'thave time.
And I was like what are youtalking about?
She's like you're, you're goingto have a baby today.
I was like no, I'm not Right, Iwas still expecting.
(01:26):
Like like I would have likefour more weeks to go.
She's like no, I'm pretty sure.
She's like are you havingcontractions?
And at that point I wasstarting to feel like a little
bit more crampy, right, and Iwas like, maybe, like I still
didn't really know what toexpect.
(01:46):
And she's like yeah, I thinkyou are.
And so both like Leanne andJarni had said the same thing
why don't you rest?
You're probably going to callus at like 2am.
Like things, things are goingto get intense.
Angela (01:54):
I'm Angela and I'm a certified birth photographer,
experienced doula, childbirtheducator and your host here on
the my Main Birth podcast.
This is a space where we sharethe real-life stories of
families and their unique birthexperiences in the beautiful
state of Maine, from our state'sbiggest hospitals to birth
center births and home births.
(02:15):
Every birth story deserves tobe heard and celebrated.
Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother or simply
interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you.
Welcome back.
You're listening to episode 121of my Main Birth.
As a reminder, I share alldifferent types of stories that
(02:38):
are submitted to me Hospitalbirths, birth center births, all
different types of home births,positive stories, negative
stories and everything inbetween.
The only requirement forsharing a birth story on the
podcast is that at least one ofyour birth stories is a Maine
birth story.
As an added bonus, all of mypodcast guests receive a gift
(02:59):
certificate for a familyadventure photo session on the
session day of your choice.
I host session days for mypodcast guests at iconic
locations across Mainethroughout the spring, summer
and fall, and I have plenty offall dates still open.
So if you're interested injoining the community of Maine
moms sharing birth stories onthe podcast.
(03:20):
You can fill out the form onthe podcast page over on my
website, mymainbirthcom, or youcan always send me a message
over on Instagram at mymainbirth.
Today's birth story guest isKathy, and she's here to share
all about her first birth, whichwas at the birth center in down
(03:41):
east Maine called Women's First, and also about her current
pregnancy and how that's beengoing All right.
Hi Kathy, welcome to my MaineBirth.
Hi Angela, to get started,would you share a little bit
about you and your family?
Cathy (04:00):
Sure, yeah.
So my name is Kathy and I liveall the way down east in Lubec
with my husband, ian.
Today is actually our eightmonth wedding anniversary, which
is pretty cool, yeah, but wewe're college sweethearts, so
we've known each other for maybelike 15 years now we live.
We bought his grandparentshouse when they passed away, so
(04:23):
we actually live right down thedriveway from where he grew up.
His parents house is like rightdown the down the road and but,
yeah, we live in Lubec on righton the bold coast, so it's
really like a beautiful piece ofland.
And now we have our son.
He's almost two actually, sohe'll be two in September and
we're 36 weeks pregnant with oursecond.
Angela (04:43):
So, yeah, we're excited and we're 36 weeks pregnant with
our second, so yeah, we'reexcited.
So, to get into your birthstories, would you share about
how you found out you werepregnant and like what your
thoughts were in choosing yourcare?
Cathy (04:55):
Sure.
So I think Ian and I hadstarted talking maybe it was
probably like fall, it must'vebeen 2022 that we were like,
okay, are we, are we ready tohave kids?
You know, we had been marriedfor like six years together, for
like well over 10 and we'relike are we, are we gonna do
this?
Like next step?
You know, we had always wantedto have at least two kids, but
(05:16):
we're like, okay, you know, noneof our friends had had kids yet
.
So it wasn't really sure that,like, do we want to switch up
our lifestyle?
Like go for, for it.
But ultimately, I think we wedecided like, let's get through
the holidays and then we'llstart in the new year.
And, um, I had someone tell melike, oh, if you've been on
birth control, it'll take.
It'll take you a long time,right, but no, we got lucky and
(05:38):
we got pregnant the first monthwe tried.
So that was really exciting.
But I remember sharing with Ianlike, okay, we're pregnant.
(05:59):
It was like that, like nervous,like oh my gosh, I'm very
excited.
But we're totally doing thisand I'm like, yeah, we are.
So it was, yeah, it was reallyway down here, but there are a
couple in Machias, which isabout 40 minutes for us.
So there's an OB officeassociated with Downey's
Community Hospital and thenevery day when I was driving to
work, there was this smallbuilding that had this sign that
was like birthing center comingsoon and I was like, oh that's,
(06:21):
that's intriguing.
So we decided to make anappointment at both places
because we weren't really surelike what, where we would vibe
better.
And the OB office at thehospital was like very much what
you would expect with like aroutine, like doctor's visit.
Right Like you come in, they'relike do all your paperwork pee
(06:42):
in this cup, you know.
Go to the room.
They're like do you have a?
We have a student shadowingtoday, is that cool?
And I was like, I guess, so youknow.
They're like put on yourdisposable sheet Okay, you're
pregnant, yay, bye.
Very like fine.
But like quick, you know.
Just like you're anotherpatient there.
Just like in and out like yep,here you go.
Yeah, you're good, okay, bye,we'll see you in a couple weeks.
(07:03):
And I was like all right,that's cool, I guess, but yeah.
So then we made an appointmentwith this midwife who was having
this birthing center open uplater that fall and it was just
a different experience, right,like hi, who are you?
Congratulations, like you'repregnant, like let's talk about
that, are you excited, you know?
And then just like, tell meabout you, tell me about your
(07:23):
husband, like what is your guys'life like?
And this is my story and likemy background, it just felt so
different and it was just like,okay, yeah, this is the been a
labor and delivery nurse foryears, both like in a hospital
setting but also many homebirths.
And you know we were.
(07:47):
We were definitely sure wedidn't want to do a home birth,
but we're like not vibing withhospitals.
So this just felt like theperfect in between for us that
she was going to open this birthcenter and it was so close to
the hospital it's like a mileaway.
So I think if there was a majoremergency we'd probably have to
go to Bangor anyway, but still,that's reassuring that we're
close enough to our localhospital.
(08:08):
So, yeah, we, we ended up goingwith the midwife and that was
really great.
We also decided to hire a doula,I think just because, like we
have no baby, we had like nobaby experience or like
pregnancy experience at all, andso I heard about doulas.
Ian at first was like, oh, likea doula.
That's like another expense andI was like I know but I think
(08:32):
it's just like you know I knowlike I'm a pretty shy,
introverted person and so, likeI knew I didn't want to have
this like team of people in mybirthing room but I was like if
I have one person that I canlike trust on that I know will
support you and supporting me,it just like felt like that
could be like just a helpfulthing for us to have.
So we hired Leanne fromAdventure Waits Birth Services
(08:56):
and she's awesome, she'sfantastic.
We knew her husband a littlebit.
He was a graduate student whenwe were undergrads and then Ian
and him had worked at BaxterState Park together when they
were both there.
So we knew their family alittle bit, knew that they kind
of like had similar interests.
You know they have fourwonderful little boys and so I
didn't know Leanne that much.
But you know we got time, wehad that time to get to know her
(09:18):
and that was that was reallyexciting too.
Angela (09:21):
Awesome, oh my gosh.
So do you care to share alittle bit more about your
thoughts on, like not wanting tohave a home birth and like why,
like, the birthing centerseemed like such a great option
for you?
Cathy (09:31):
Yeah.
So I think, like you know, ahome birth just seems it just
felt a little intimidating forus.
It's not, you know, we are,we're like all the way down here
in Lubeb, we're pretty far awayfrom everything.
So it was like, okay, well, ifsomething goes wrong, like we're
all you know, not that we'd beby ourselves, we would have a
midwife here, you know she couldcome here and stuff, but just
felt like it, I don't know, itjust didn't like that.
(09:54):
We were just like I don't know,we don't really feel totally
comfortable with a home birthand the birth center it just
felt like it had all theequipment ready to go.
It was right there, she that wasthe space that she was building
.
That was still comfortable,still super private, right, like
it was just her.
She has one nurse assistantthat helps her, and then it
ended up being Leanne with us.
(10:14):
So still there's only threepeople that we were going to
have there.
It's not like a bunch of peoplewould come in and intrude your
space.
It's still your private spaceand it was a little bit less
rural, you know, so like ifsomething happened, we could get
help a little bit faster, whichfelt good.
Angela (10:31):
So how was your pregnancy looking?
How are you feeling throughoutthat pregnancy?
Cathy (10:43):
Yeah.
So I got nauseous, like prettymuch right away, and I was like,
okay, that that's normal, right, you know?
I was like, okay, everyone getsright, you know.
I was like, okay, everyone getsnauseous.
This is part about beingpregnant.
And Ian was like, are you surethis is normal?
Because, like I was not eating,like not drinking, like I, I
was struggling pretty quick,like it was just very intense,
and I was like, yeah, this is,this is normal, this is what it
means to be pregnant in thefirst trimester.
(11:04):
And he was like I really thinkyou should like highlight this
on your next, you know,appointment.
And he couldn't go to a lot ofthe appointments, so he's like I
really need you to advocateabout this when you go.
And so I ended up talking toJohnny and she was like, okay,
yeah, this sounds like a littlebit more like I was throwing up
multiple times, like all day,didn't matter morning, afternoon
(11:27):
, evening, like it was just, youknow, I was constantly throwing
up, couldn't eat, wasn't reallydrinking.
And so she was like, yeah, thisisn't great.
You know, we tried some thingslike the B6 and Unisum and all
those other things that they,you know, you can give a, give
it a go, but nothing was reallyhelping.
So she did ask if I wanted totry Zofran it's a prescription
you can get and I did end upafter a while, I think.
(11:49):
I tried not to for a long timebut I was like, okay, I'll just,
I'll go for it.
And that helped with thevomiting.
I did stop throwing up, but Ialways still felt nauseous, like
from the day I found out to theday that kid came out.
I it never went away.
People were like, oh, you'llstart to feel better soon, that
(12:11):
placenta will kick in, and itnever did or it just didn't
change.
So that was intense and I think, just like not having like the
nutrients that you, that youthink you're going to get
throughout the journey.
And then to like the mentalgame you know I was so used to
being hiking and working out andgetting and I couldn't do the
things that I envisioned that Iwould do still while being
(12:34):
pregnant.
So that was really hard anddefinitely made me not love
being pregnant.
To be honest, it's not somethinglike if people are like, oh, do
you like it?
I'm like not really.
But besides that, the thepregnancy was great in the sense
.
Like you know, everything elsewas very healthy and normal.
Um, johnny, uh, she was able todo, you know, in in-house labs
(13:00):
and ultrasounds, so you know Iopted for things that you might
routinely get.
So, like we did the blood testfor the genetic screening, we
had the anatomy scan.
Probably it must have beenaround like 22 weeks.
I feel like Everything wasgreat there, that everything
baby was growing.
So even though I was likelosing weight, baby was fine.
Angela (13:23):
So that was really okay though I was like losing weight
baby was fine, so that wasreally okay.
Um, so, were you going toEllsworth?
Cathy (13:30):
for where were you going for your test?
No, I could do.
I could do almost everything inhouse with Jarni, so I just did
pretty much everything inMachias.
For the anatomy scan, I had togo to the hospital in Machias.
So that's the one thing that,yeah, I had to go there.
Um, but like, yeah, I could doa glucose test.
I didn't have to take the ordrink the drink I guess that
everyone drinks.
I did like this alternative.
(13:51):
I think I had like grape juiceand a banana or something, so
that was pretty nice.
So I don't know, everyone saysit's really that juice is gross,
so I didn't, but I didn't haveto do that, so that was lucky.
Um, I did get a R rogam shotjust because of my blood type
and because there could be umcomplications with the babies,
but besides that everything wastotally normal.
(14:12):
You know, we chose to find outthe sex.
He was a little boy, which wewere gonna be excited either way
, but that was cool.
And then also, like, withLeanne, we, you know she was
coming to meet with us, you know, or we'd go hiking or whatever
we were up for, and she justtook time to like get to know us
as our doula and like what ourvision was, and we did a
(14:34):
birthing like class with her,which was really helpful because
, again, like we just didn'thave a lot of experience or
friends to kind of rely on.
So that was just a wonderfulexperience all around there.
Angela (14:46):
That sounds amazing.
So how are things looking likein those last final weeks and
then days leading up to whenyour labor started?
Cathy (14:55):
Yeah.
So everyone had told me to addlike 10 days to whatever my due
date was.
So I was like I think we weredue the 27th of September.
So I was like, oh, I'm going tohave an October baby, which is
great.
So I was like, oh, I'm gonnahave an October baby, which is
great.
Fall, that sounds perfect.
But um, at 37 weeks and fourdays is when I went into labor,
(15:17):
so a lot earlier than I wasexpecting, it was September 10th
.
Because I was like, oh, yeah,I'll have like four more weeks
or whatever.
But I remember that day, like Iwoke up and I was feeling good,
like I had high energy.
I was like, oh, this isn'tnormal, but I feel great.
I actually remember mymother-in-law had been asking me
to pick peas from the gardenfor like weeks and I was like I
(15:37):
will do it.
But that morning I was like I'mgoing to do it, like I finally
feel good enough to go do thisvery small task, but like still
felt good.
And then I remember, by thetime I had gotten fully ready,
my husband and her had walked inand they had already.
They had this big bowl of peasand I was like, oh, no, I was
going to do that today, likesuch a small thing, but they're
like these are really past due.
(15:58):
You should have done it a whileago.
And I was like I know I'm sosorry, but we ended up going for
a hike that afternoon.
It was great, just down to abeach and we hung out on the
beach the whole time.
And then we got home, it wasprobably like three, three
thirty, I think.
I told my husband, ok, I'mgoing to hop in the shower.
And he's like oh, do you wantme to join?
(16:18):
And I was like sure, thatsounds great.
So we were.
When we were intimate in theshower, I definitely felt like
this extra gush.
I was like huh, doesn'tnormally happen.
And I was was like I wonder ifthat was my water breaking.
But I was like no, I'm onlylike 37 weeks, so you know.
He hopped out and I stayed into like wash my hair or whatever
, and within a couple of minutesI was like I lost what.
(16:40):
I was like this has to be mymucus plug, right?
I was like I don't know.
I called him back.
I was like, yeah, come back.
And he was like yeah, what I'mlike holding it out in my hand
outside of the shower curtainand he's like what do you, what
do you want me to do with that?
And I was like do you thinkthis is a mucus plug?
Like do you think that's whatthis is?
And he's like I don't know,google it.
(17:08):
And I was like okay, I'll justcall J your water to break.
Are you to lose your mucus plugat like 37 weeks?
She was like yeah, it can be.
She, you know.
She was like you know, are youfeeling like crampy?
And I was like no, I feeltotally normal.
Otherwise, she's like is thebaby moving?
I was like yep, baby's moving,feels good.
Yep, she's like okay, well,like keep me updated, right,
(17:30):
just like go rest and just liketext me if you have any changes.
And um, leanne was actuallyscheduled to come over that day.
The same day we were going togo through like the details of
the birth plan, so like reallysit down and and write
everything out and like coverall that stuff.
And so she was going to comeover probably like in an hour.
It was like five o' I think shewas scheduled to come to Popeye
(17:51):
and you know she came and she'slike how's your day going?
And I was like good, I think mywater broke.
And she's like oh, do you havecontractions?
And I was like, no, I feeltotally the same.
Otherwise, she's like okay, soyou know, we was just like going
(18:15):
through things.
And then we got to a page andshe's just like flip that page
over.
She's like we're going to,we're going to skip that page.
And I was like why?
And she's like you, you don'thave time.
And I was like no, I'm notright, I was still expecting,
like like I would have like fourmore weeks to go.
She's like no, I'm pretty sure.
(18:35):
She's like are you havingcontractions?
And at that point I wasstarting to feel like a little
bit more crampy, right, I waslike maybe, like I still didn't
really know what to expect.
And she's like yeah, I think youare.
And so both like Leanne andJarn Johnny, had said the same
thing.
Why don't you rest?
You're probably going to callus at like 2 am.
Like things, things are goingto get intense.
(18:57):
And I was like okay, and Iremember like, right before
Leanne left, she turned to Ian.
She's like do you have a carseat in your car?
And he's like no, it's in thebox.
He like in the garage.
She's like, let me help you,let me help you put that in the
car, but where I go, like you'regonna need that.
(19:18):
And we were both, like, I think,in denial for sure that we were
about to have this baby thatday.
But yeah, she probably left atabout like 6, 6, 30 and by eight
o'clock I had called Jarni andwas like, yeah, our contractions
are five minutes apart and theythey're like intense like I
think actually my husband calledbecause like I was not talking
through them.
So it went from like nothing tolike okay, like yeah, okay,
this is, this is labor, I guess.
(19:39):
So we she was like, yeah, comeon in.
So we probably got to Machias alittle after nine and what I
kind of expected like everythingfrom there field cut, like kind
of it's like a blur a littlebit, because exactly what I
expected happened is like I justlike went deep in right, like I
like closed my eyes and likeshut everyone out which is why
(20:01):
it was so great to have likeLeanne, you know to like help
support my husband, cause, likeI just like was not talking to
anyone, I was like ignoringeveryone because of the
contractions were so close andjust coming so fast.
It was like really intense.
I was like, wow, I just likecouldn't talk.
I could remember them likeasking me to do things.
I just like straight up ignoredthem, which I felt kind of bad
(20:23):
about.
But eventually someone was likehey, like do you want to try the
tub?
And I was like hey, like do youwant to try the tub?
And I was like, yeah, okay, I,I do remember that is something
I thought would sound reallygreat.
It was so hot, I hated it.
It was just like it felt like a, like a really big hot tub.
I was like, why is this waterso hot?
I tried to stay in there for alittle bit, but eventually I got
(20:45):
out and yeah, I don't reallyremember like what happened in
between there, but then I endedup like laying on the bed, kind
of on one of my sides, and thatwas the position that I
ultimately gave birth in.
I remember like one of my legswas like elevated and it was
getting so tired.
I was like I need someone tohold this leg, but I never
(21:06):
couldn't like speak that outloud to anyone, right, you know.
So it was just like, just like,okay, I'm just like.
But eventually I think Leannelike came under and was
supporting me there, which wasreally great.
She just knew what I needed.
And I think, like I only reallyremember communicating with
everyone once, like I I feltlike someone was like pulling me
and like pulling the opening,and I was like you guys have to
(21:27):
stop touching me and likethey're all like no one is,
literally no one is touching you.
And I was like no, you're like,you're like stretching and it
hurts.
I don't like that.
And they're like their handsare out there, like literally no
one is touching you, that isjust you are stretching on your
own.
We know it's not great.
(21:52):
Remember, like, at once Istarted pushing, I could
remember him like coming reallyclose, like, and then I would
just like hold him there becauseif I didn't, he'd like suck,
suck back up.
You know like.
So it felt like I was like oh,he's pushing, he's coming, he's
coming.
And then, like, if I relaxed, Ifelt like he was just like it
sucked right back up.
I was like no one ever told methat that would happen, so I
would just hold him.
And Johnny's like Kathy, kathy,you have to like, you have to
like let go, you have to breathe.
And I was like, oh, I don'twant to, I need him to come out.
(22:15):
And eventually, I think it wasabout like 1145.
Someone was like, oh, you'redoing good, you know you've only
been here for three hours, butyou're like, you're getting
really close.
And I remember thinking like,oh, I want to push so hard
because for some reason I justlike was convinced I didn't want
to have a baby on 9-11, whichyou know, so I was just minutes
away.
But he did come, like just acouple minutes after midnight.
(22:38):
So we did ultimately have himon 9-11, which is fine, that's,
it's totally okay.
But I remember pushing like Ican do this, he'll come out
before.
Then Didn't make it, but so itwas pretty quick, quick like we
got there at nine o'clock and hewas born right at midnight.
So it was very fast and intenseand everything kind of felt
like a blur to me in the momentbecause I was just like totally
(23:01):
not expecting to have a baby.
But yeah, I mean after that Idon't remember birthing the
placenta, it must've just came.
I remember someone asking if Iwanted it and I was like, nope,
I don't need it.
And they just had put him likeright on my chest, and so we
just hung out like that for awhile and then eventually cut
the cord a little bit later.
(23:22):
So it was just like quickinterview, I feel like, but but
good, it was.
Positive, I feel like, but butgood it was positive.
Angela (23:30):
Yeah, oh my gosh.
So how was your postpartum?
How was like?
How long did you stay at thebirth center for?
Cathy (23:36):
Yeah, so I we didn't stay very long.
I was pretty much ready to go,probably around like three,
three, 30 in the morning, andthey were like, yeah, you're
good, baby's good, they did allthe measurements.
Um, my husband was like I don'twant to, I don't want to drive
in the dark, and so he was likeI want to wait until it gets
light out, and I was like Idon't want to wait, I want to go
(24:00):
home, right, and so I think weleft right around four and got
home, you know, close to five,but so we didn't stay there very
long and postpartum was okay,had, um, high bilirubin levels,
so that's like when you'reconcerned about jaundice.
So we were going back and forthlike every day to the machias
hospital for them to like testhis levels to make sure that it
(24:22):
was going to become like thatthey would get low enough.
It was really confusing, though, because the hospital was like
no, you have to go to yourpediatrician, and the
pediatrician was like no, youhave to go to the hospital.
And we were the communicationwas very bad and we were just
like going to multiple placesand everyone's like who are you,
why are you here?
And we're like someone told usto come right.
(24:42):
And so, as new parents who alsolike, were maybe a little less
prepared than we should havebeen, we were not ready for the
baby yet.
We just felt.
We just felt like it would,just felt very chaotic, like we
weren't getting clear answers.
We were like how long do wehave to do this for?
And no one was reallycommunicating that to us.
But after about, like I think,a week and a half, his levels
(25:03):
had come far enough down that wedidn't have to keep going to
the hospital, so that was great.
He wasn't the best sleeper, butI think that's what should be
expected.
Eventually, once I was up andmoving, we were able to do a lot
of mini walks outside while hewas contact napping, so that was
pretty great.
We breastfed and that wentpretty good.
(25:27):
It was a much shorter timeframe than I thought.
I thought I would, you know, doit for a couple, like at least
two years, but like around ayear he was like no, yeah, I'm
just not really into thisanymore, mom, which was, I guess
, okay.
He had a lot of teeth by thatpoint, so I was kind of relieved
to be like okay, I guess that'spretty good.
(25:51):
Pumping was a little bit hardfor me.
I ended up having high lipase,which I don't know if a lot of
people like do have that or not,but it's basically when your
milk turns to have this likesoapy or metallic taste, it's
fine, like in theory, the babycan drink it.
They just don't want to becauseit doesn't taste good.
It they just don't want tobecause it doesn't taste good.
(26:14):
And I didn't, you know, Ididn't know that until it was
like, oh, I'm gonna go back towork in a week, why don't we try
a bottle, right?
And so then I was like, wow,he's really rejecting bottles.
And we tried like all differenttypes of bottles until finally
I like tried the milk and I waslike, yeah, well, this tastes
disgusting.
I was like, no wonder hedoesn't want to drink it.
And it's just that any like wefound out through like just like
(26:35):
a series of tests, that likeafter 12 hours that that so be
metallic taste would like formin my milk.
So pretty much everything thatI had stored he wasn't going to
drink, which was really a bummer.
Because then I was like, okay,well, now I have to go back to
work and we had this nice supply, but we can't really use it.
I mean, we did use it for likebaths, like if he had a rash I'd
(26:58):
put some in the bath, butbesides that he wasn't really
drinking it.
So that complicated things fromlike with pumping, because then
you can kind of get rid of thetaste if you scald your milk,
which is a little bit of abummer.
But just added this whole extrastep through that process.
And then I also got mastitistwice, which was a little
(27:19):
unfortunate, and I think likethe first time they gave me some
antibiotics for it and they'relike take these for 12, you know
, 12 or 14 days.
And after five I was like, well, it's gone, I don't have to
take these antibiotics anymore.
They were making me like supernauseous as well.
So it's like bringing back allthese memories.
I was like I'm just going tostop taking this.
And then it like came rightback.
(27:39):
So they're like did you take itfor 14 days?
I was like no, and they're like, why don't you try again?
So that was, that was fine, butI was able to kick it, I think
after the second time.
But besides that, yeah, haveyou know, perfectly healthy two
(28:08):
year old.
So he's doing pretty great.
Angela (28:13):
Awesome.
So how did you find out youwere pregnant for the second
time?
Cathy (28:18):
Yeah, so definitely After , I would say, you know, after I
always tell people after thefirst pregnancy I was like I'm
never gonna be pregnant again.
It was just like so hard to benauseous for so long.
I was like I always say like ifI could go through labor again,
fine, that was.
That was so intense, but itonly lasted a few hours compared
to being so nauseous, like thatmental and physical drain, for
(28:42):
like months on end.
It's really hard.
But, like everyone was like well, you always wanted to and maybe
it'll be different.
And I was like, okay, yeah, myfirst kid is so darn cute.
So I was like maybe it will bedifferent.
So my husband and I were like,okay, well, like let's try it.
And we were pretty lucky again,I think it took us about three
(29:04):
months to get pregnant this timeand we wanted, you know, we
were like, oh, if we're going todo it, we want them to be
pretty close in age.
So we were pretty ready tostart trying, yeah, and so I
think we found out in rightafter Thanksgiving last year and
, for care, we decided, you know, we liked it.
So we went with again, we haveLeanne as our doula this time
(29:25):
around and yeah, and we're usingWomen's First and Jarni again
in the triathletes.
Angela (29:34):
So we're kind of same care routine there Awesome.
So how has your pregnancy beengoing?
Are you as nauseous as thefirst time?
Cathy (29:39):
so I was definitely as nauseous in the beginning,
actually like even worse.
It felt like, um, like nothinghelped.
Like I got the Zofran, likealmost right away this time,
because I started feelingnauseous, was like oh my gosh,
here we go again.
And then I tried some otherprescription I actually don't
even remember the name of itbecause the zofran was not
(30:00):
working but that made me feellike super jittery.
So I was like I don't, I don'tlike this at all.
But yeah, like I was not ableto have like any food or water
and I actually had to go get IVfluids a couple times for this,
for this pregnancy, just like Iwas just so dehydrated, like you
know, I was at the point whereI was just throwing up.
Nothing like still throwing up,but like there was, I'm past
(30:23):
the bile, like you know, it wasjust going through the motions.
It was so hard, and I mean thistime it was even more hard
because now we have, you know,like a 16 month old who's
hitting that point where they'relike mama, mama, you know ready
.
And it's hard to explain wherethey're like mama, mama, you
know ready.
And it's hard to explain tosome little baby why mama is
just going to lay on thebathroom floor for hours all day
(30:45):
, right, and luckily myhusband's a superstar goes to
work all day, comes home, doesall the child care, you know,
make sure he's fed and put tobed all while the kid is
shouting for mama and then, youknow, feeds me and I throw it up
, just like the perfect husbandto take care of.
But it was.
It was hard.
I mean, we definitely both.
(31:05):
I could neither of us hadvocalized it out loud, but I
definitely could see that bothof us were like did we make a
mistake?
You know, like we had thisperfect little family and now we
are just like struggling sohard and we're like you know,
not that this baby is not wanted, like we want it more than
anything.
But it was definitely likephysically, mentally, like okay,
(31:28):
this could be like another 200,you know a long time.
So I skipped out on a lot ofthings in the beginning, like
didn't do blood testing orgenetic testing.
So I was like there's no waysomeone's going to like draw my
blood right now, like that wouldbe, you know.
So didn't do anything like that.
Luckily, this time aroundaround 21 weeks, I started to
feel better.
(31:49):
I was like, oh my God, thankgoodness Cause I was like I
don't think you know, with Nateit lasted the entire time.
So this time I was like, okay,maybe, maybe things are turning
around.
And now, at 36 weeks, I amtotally like eating normal.
I actually feel like a normal,like, yeah, I could eat for two
kind of mama, which is totallygreat.
(32:10):
So even though I was, it wasmuch more intense for that first
trimester and a little bit intothe second more intense for
that first trimester and alittle bit into the second.
It's it ended this time around.
So that felt really reallygreat, yeah, and so then the
rest of the pregnancy has beenokay.
You know, we found out the sexagain.
This time it's a baby girl, sowe're really excited about that.
(32:30):
So we'll have one of each,which is super awesome.
But, um, the the anatomy scanpopped up a couple things that
had like kept us on like aninteresting journey.
So the first thing that itpopped up was that she was
really really tiny, so less than10, which I guess is very like,
puts you into like a concerninglevel.
But it also popped up that shehad this like um thick chest
(32:55):
wall, which no one reallyexplained to me.
But I, when I went back to likelook at the report, they had
labeled it as high drops, whichI had to Google.
But that's something where youcan have like excessive fluid
that accumulates in your body orin the baby's body and that can
lead to like complications andthings.
So we got referred to for afollow up at Northern Light in
Bangor.
So we went there.
(33:17):
Um, luckily they found no signsof the high drops.
So that was like totally cool.
Um, it was just like one ofthose things where you're like
stressing the whole time on thetwo and a half hour drive to
Bangor and like the week leadingup to it like oh my gosh, you
know.
No one really told me what thismeans.
Like am I going to have to likechange?
(33:38):
You know, my whole you know.
But that was fine.
But the baby's still measuringabout two, two percent is what
that was where she was.
So so the thought that she'sjust concerning for IGR or like
a growth restriction, she's justnot measuring close to her
gestational age.
And then also then when I wasin Bangor, they were like oh
well, we're seeing some weirdshadow on her heart and I was
like cool.
(33:59):
So then we got referred to thepediatric cardiologist so we had
to go for another follow-up toBangor and that that all worked
itself out that she has like twosmall VSDs which are ventricles
, septical defects but they'relike these tiny little pinholes
in her heart but they were likeit's likely that they'll just
(34:21):
close on their own.
And the recommendation is there, like after her birth, like
maybe at six weeks you would goin and get them checked if the
um pediatrician hears anythinginteresting on her heart.
But likely, like many kids havethat, and it just closes on its
own and so that that's not abig deal.
But because of her small size,the Bangor was like, yeah, we
(34:44):
want to do follow-ups.
They wanted to do like a weeklygrowth scan no, bi-weekly, I
think, is what they said for tojust check her like size and
weight.
And they wanted to do twice aweek like a biophysical profile
and doppler ultrasound, which Iwas like, oh, that's so, that's
(35:04):
a lot.
And they're like, yeah, we needto check like movement and
breathing and heart rate andfluid levels, and I was like,
okay, and I was like and I haveto come to Bangor, because I was
like coming to Bangor twice aweek is like it's a five-hour
round trip for me.
So I was like that's not liketotally, a week is like it's a
five hour round trip for me.
So I was like that's not liketotally feasible.
But once I talked to my midwife, charney, she was like, yeah,
no, you, you don't have to go toBangor for that.
(35:24):
I was like, okay, thank gosh.
And she, you know, I was like Ipersonally was like you know, I
felt this.
The baby's movement, you know,has always been like super
active.
And I was like, personally, Iwas like, yeah, she's small, but
like doesn't that make sense?
Like I had no nutrients forlike the whole first trimester,
right, like I was literallythrowing up every day all the
(35:47):
time.
There was nothing there, right.
And now I'm a small person andso is my husband and so was our
first baby.
So I was like let's like giveher time to grow Right.
But my midwife still was likerecommended that I would go to
the hospital here for bi-weeklycheckups.
So I did that in June and July.
So in June she was still aroundlike 4%, thought, all the way
(36:09):
up to 10.
So I was like, okay, yeah, guys, she's growing Right.
And in July she went from 10 to16%.
So she's still really small.
But the last one, which wasmaybe two weeks ago, she was
about five ounces.
So I was like that feels great.
I still have a couple weeks togo right.
And, like I said, I think Natewas six ounces and three when he
was, when he was born.
(36:30):
So I was like okay, fivedoesn't feel that far off.
So at this point I feel likeI've felt like this for a while
but I've kind of like I've Icanceled my last like biweekly
check.
Well, they were supposed tostart weekly and I was like I'm
done, I'm done doing all ofthese.
You know, it's like that littlebit of like I had to build up
the enough confidence to be like, no, I trust I can feel my baby
(36:52):
and I feel good, and like Iknow that it was just like it
took her.
She was just like a latebloomer on growth.
Like I was like it took a while, it wasn't giving her the
nutrients she wanted and so andI just felt like it was just not
necessary to go get these like15, 20 minute ultrasounds every
week.
I was like I, I'm like I'm notgoing to change my plan, like
(37:12):
right, like I was like is thatcool?
And my midwife is like ifthat's what you want to do, then
that's me.
So I think we're just going tokind of hang in there.
Maybe we'll do one more as itgets a little bit closer, we'll
see.
Like I said, we're at 30, we're36 weeks now.
So she comes early, like herbrother.
She could be here in a week orwe could have a couple of weeks
(37:33):
to go.
She wants to stay in there andgrow.
Yeah, it's been like aninteresting pregnancy.
I just feel like there has beenlike more cause for alarm than
necessary, right, like you know,and it's hard sometimes to put
your not to like put your footdown, but to be like confident
enough to say like no, like I'mtrusting my own intuition in
this, because people do make youfeel like you have to go get
(37:55):
this extra appointment or followup, and so it took me a while,
but I'm at that point now thatI'm like no, I really trust, I'm
trusting myself, and so, likethat's what that's like, just
like sending the positive vibes.
I feel good with it.
I feel good with thosedecisions.
It just took me a little extralong to get there.
Angela (38:11):
I think that is amazing, kathy.
And yeah, it really is justlike tuning into your own
intuition, because every youknow the standard of care is all
the same, but each person isnot the same.
Each person is different, eachsituation is different, each
pregnancy and baby is different.
And, yeah, just tuning intowhat is right for you in each
pregnancy is so important.
(38:31):
And, yeah, it can definitely bechallenging within the system
navigating all that, yeah andwow, oh my gosh.
So last time you had your babyat 37 weeks.
So now you're like I could havea baby in a week, but it also
could be like five weeks.
Cathy (38:48):
I know Exactly.
So we're just like in thatreally fun waiting game.
We're definitely like overlyprepared this time, because we
were just like so underpreparedlast time, because we're like,
oh, we have so much time.
So now I'm like, okay, well, Ithink I did everything that I do
, so now we're just like hangingout just waiting to see how it
goes.
But it's like a little funadventure there.
Angela (39:09):
Yeah, oh my gosh.
The most fun adventure for sure.
Yeah, at this point, as a finalquestion, if you were to give
advice to someone who'sexpecting, or even new parents,
what is one of the biggestthings you'd want to share?
Cathy (39:26):
yeah, I think the biggest thing is, like, before getting
pregnant, even the first time,it was just like I had this
vision of like this will be whatpregnancy is like.
Like I'm going to eat all thislike nutritious food.
I'm going to keep working out,I'm going to do, I'm going to
eat all this like nutritiousfood.
I'm going to keep working out,I'm going to do yoga, I'm going
to go hiking.
And for me it was like I don'twant to say like a picture
perfect pregnancy, but likewhat's portrayed on like social
(39:46):
media sometimes or in movies,right, and all I could do is
what felt like was just likestruggle to the next day.
And so I think it took me awhile to like not be so hard on
myself, to like not compare myjourney to somebody else's,
especially like a mediainfluenced kind of journey, and
so if you're a mama, that's likefeeling that way, don't be
(40:09):
rough on yourself, right?
Like be like you know what.
No, I'm doing exactly what Ineed to do for my baby.
If we will be fine, it's ajourney.
It might be really, really hard, like it.
Definitely there were mentallyhard, very challenging days, but
like take what you need andturn off the other stuff, right.
So, like, really just focus onyourself.
(40:30):
But like all you do, to lay inbed for 14 hours that day, that
was fine, that's great.
You know that's what you neededthat day, and it took me a
while to kind of like get tothat point that I was like this
is exactly what I need to bedoing right now, and it's okay
that I'm not like super fit, youknow, super awesome mom right
now, because I'm still raising areally great, healthy baby and
that's what matters.
(40:51):
So, yeah, I would definitely saythat to parents.
I would also suggest, as just aside note, just in case you
happen to be a mama that has thehigh life is maybe just check
your breast milk, like not theweek before you have to go back
to work, you know, just likemaybe pull one out of the
freezer and see if your babytakes the bottle a little bit
(41:11):
earlier.
You'd be a little lessstressful on your life there.
But I'm not sure how commonthat is for other for for people
.
So, but it definitely put alittle wrench in our, our
planning around how we weregoing to use that supply that we
couldn't use anymore.
So, yeah, just just go with theflow and and yeah, enjoy it,
(41:32):
even though it might be hard.
Angela (41:34):
Yeah, it's so important.
Well, thank you so much, Kathy,for taking the time to share
your story today.
It's such a pleasure chattingwith you.
Cathy (41:44):
Yeah, likewise yeah, and hopefully we'll touch base soon.
Angela (41:47):
Yes, Before you go, I just want to remind you I have a
ton of resources for pregnancyand birth.
If you're pregnant, whetheryou're a first-time mom or if
this is your fifth baby, I wantyou to check out the show notes,
because I have some freetrainings and free downloads
that you can sign up for, aswell as the link to access my
(42:07):
labor of love, a comprehensive,self-paced online childbirth
education course.
I created this coursespecifically for moms who don't
want to be told what to do,regardless of where you're
birthing or who you're birthingwith, and I'd honestly love to
teach you everything that I knowso that you can prepare for an
autonomous birth experience andprepare to step into your role
(42:30):
as the leader of your birthjourney.
So click to the show notes,check out all of those links and
, if you ever have any questions, feel free to DM me at my main
birth over on Instagram.
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